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The fund would be based in Switzerland and BlackRock could start marketing it as soon as this month, according to the story.
By Camomile Shumba, James Van Straten, Francisco Rodrigues|Edited by Stephen Alpher
Feb 5, 2025, 6:09 p.m. UTC
What to know:
- Blackrock (BLK) plans on listing a bitcoin exchange traded product (ETP) in Europe with marketing to begin as soon as this month, reports Bloomberg.
- This would be the asset manager’s first crypto-linked ETP outside of America.
- The company’s U.S.-based bitcoin ETF has accumulated nearly $60 billion in AUM in just more than a year of operation.
The world’s largest asset management firm with more than $10 trillion in AUM, Blackrock (BLK) plans on listing a bitcoin exchange traded product (ETP) in Europe, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
The fund would be based in Switzerland and BlackRock could start marketing it as soon as this month, according to the report.
This would be the giant asset manager’s first crypto-linked ETP outside of America. Blackrock’s U.S.-based iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) has been a wild success, accumulating nearly $60 billion in assets in just more than one year since opening for business.
BlackRock’s move would be the latest in a string of investment firms looking to dive further into providing crypto-backed securities in Europe. Kraken recently secured a license that will enable it to offer derivatives, joining others like Bitstamp and FTX EU.
The company’s entry into the European crypto ETP ecosystem could further fuel the competitive response that’s been seen among various providers, which include fee waivers on several products, some expense fees for ETP’s have been as high as 2.5%. In the U.S., a similar competitive response came after these funds were launched in Jan. 2024.
A lot of question marks still occur around this product, including the fee structure, which would have big implications for the performance of the ETP. “Don’t know the fee yet, that will be a big variable,” said Senior Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas. “U.S. ETFs blow away the rest of the world in cost and liquidity but either way shows commitment from the world’s biggest asset manager who has a big presence overseas.”
U.S.-based bitcoin ETFs currently have 91% of the world market, said Balchunas.
Blackrock did not comment before press time.
Camomile Shumba is a CoinDesk regulatory reporter based in the UK. Previously, Shumba interned at Business Insider and Bloomberg. Camomile has featured in Harpers Bazaar, Red, the BBC, Black Ballad, Journalism.co.uk, Cryptopolitan.com and South West Londoner.
Shumba studied politics, philosophy and economics as a combined degree at the University of East Anglia before doing a postgraduate degree in multimedia journalism. While she did her undergraduate degree she had an award-winning radio show on making a difference. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.
James Van Straten is a Senior Analyst at CoinDesk, specializing in Bitcoin and its interplay with the macroeconomic environment. Previously, James worked as a Research Analyst at Saidler & Co., a Swiss hedge fund, where he developed expertise in on-chain analytics. His work focuses on monitoring flows to analyze Bitcoin’s role within the broader financial system.
In addition to his professional endeavors, James serves as an advisor to Coinsilium, a UK publicly traded company, where he provides guidance on their Bitcoin treasury strategy. He also holds investments in Bitcoin, MicroStrategy (MSTR), and Semler Scientific (SMLR).
Francisco is a reporter for CoinDesk with a passion for cryptocurrencies and personal finance. Before joining CoinDesk he worked at major financial and crypto publications. He owns bitcoin, ether, solana, and PAXG above CoinDesk’s $1,000 disclosure threshold.
